Sample case



' July 1 1924.

Jl il H. H. LABADIE ET AL SAMPLE CASE Filed June 29 //////uV//.,Y//V//u/////////////////////7////v mmgmg,

Patented .luly l, 1924*.

HARRY H. LABADIE, BURTON B. BEERS, AND WILLIAIVL MACDONALD BRAND.- 0F

EST TO KNICKERBOCKER CASE COMPANY, F CHICAGO,` ILLINOIS, A- CORPORATION snivrrnnv C .Asn

Application led June 29, 1922. Serial No. 571,638.

Tor-all whom imag concern:

vBeit known that we, HARRY LABADIE, BURTON B. BEERs, and WILLIAM MACDON- ALD BRAND, citizens of the United States, residing 'at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certainv 'new and useful Improvements in Sample Cases, ofwhich the following is a specification. Our invention relates to samplev cases of the general type shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 906,568 of December 1'5, 1908, comprising one or more stacks of trays lconnected together by means of links in such a manner that the trays may be held in superposedvposition one above the other, or may be held in laterally extended position with respect yto each other forl displayingthe contents'of the several trays. It is one of the objec'tsof' our invention to improve the construction and arrangement of the system of link connections for obtaining the-maximum smoothness lo f operation without binding, while at the same time, preserving the simplicity of the construction and the ease of assembly without the necessity for extended adjustment. Y

It is another object of our inventionto I provide'for the ready removel of 'any one of the trays from the system of supporting links, whereby a spare 'tray can 'be substituted in the place of any tray which becomes bent or otherwise imperfect.

` Itis another object to provide for the ready removal of the entire system of trays and links as a'unit from the casing and the substitution of a similar unit, making it possible thus to send in a complete unit for repairs. This also makes it'possible for a salesman to use with afs'ingle bag Vor casing a numbervof different ,units packed with different classes of goods or with goods ar ranged differently, to meet varyingconditions. l The invention has for anotherrobject the provision of sundryv improvements, as will appear hereinafter.

"Ihe preferred means by which we have accomplished our several objects are illustratedin the drawings and are hereinafterk specifically described. That which we be lieve to be new and desire to cover by Let tersfPatent is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings: v

Fig. l'is an end view of our improved case,

opened up,'re'ady for the inspection ofi-,sameE and the case being shown in closed position i.

in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross-section, showing one of the two stacks of trays in laterally extended position..`

Fig. 3' is a horizontal cross section ltaken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and` Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken on lined-4 of Fig.r 2. A Referring to the several figures of, the drawings, in which corresponding parts vare indicated by the same reference characters, 10 indicates the lower open topped part of a casing, having two upper casing parts 11 and 12 hinged thereto along their lateral edges. One of the upper casing" parts is provided with a vhandle 13 by which`t`he bag or casing can be conveniently carried, suitable fasteners vof any'approved type being provided for holding the upper Tcasing y parts 11 andlQ releasably together,'as i'ndi-V cated in dotted lines in Fig.v 1'.v

In the constructionV shown in 'the drawings, the system of'trays comprises a bottom tray 14 made of thin sheet" metalwth' two stacks of superposed trays 15 mounted there. on' side by side. Each tray is connected to the neXtlower trayfby a kpair of parallel linksA 16 so arranged that the trayscan be moved'to superposed position, as shown in Figure 1, or to laterally extendedrposition, Y'

as shown in Fig. 2, lthe innered'gelof each of the upper trays being adapted to rest upon the' outer edge of the next lower; tray when in extended'positio'n for maintaining the trays inV their relative raised positions, one above the other., y j

Our improved means for connecting :the links 16fwith the trays `15 comprises hori zontally disposed'bars 17 vextending across both ends of each of the Vuppertraysand correspondingly positioned' bars 18 across both end s of the bottom tray. Thesebars 17 and 18 are spaced away from the ends of, the i trays Aby vmeans of vstrips 19 and 20, respectively, formed of fiber or any other suitable material. The bars are secured tothe 'ends of the trays by means 'of removable boltsQ-l;

' wherefore any one of the trays can be readily removed and replaced by another tray of similar size and shape, whenever' it is desired for any reason to do so. The ends of the links 16 are connected to the bars 17 and 18 by means of rivets 22 which are tightened suiiiciently to hold the parts together, but are at the same time left loose enough to have a Working fit so as to permit free Swinging of the links with reference to the bars. The rivets 22 are given flat heads on the inner faces of the bars 17 and 18, spaces for such heads being provided at the ends of the spacing strips 19 and 2O and at intermediate points by means of holes 23 through the strips.

For removably connecting in position in the casing part 10 the unit comprising the tray 14 and the two stacks of superposed trays 15, we have provided flexible clips or brackets 24 carried by the ends of. the bottom casing part 10. As is shown in Fig. 4, each of the clips 24 is formed of a strip of metal bent about a closed loop 25, the ends of the clip being secured by means of a long rivet 26. The upper end of the clip extends over the edge of the bottom tray so that the loop 25 may be turned down into releasable engagement with a latch device 27 of any approved type secured on the inner face of the end of the bottom tray 14. Vith the bot-tom 14 fitted snugly within the bottom casing part, and with the loops 25 in engagement with the latch devices 27, the unit comprising the bottom tray 14 and the connected trays 15 is very securely held in position. `When, however, it is desired to remove the unit, this can be accomplished very readily and quickly by releasing the latch devices 271 and forc ing the clipsV 24 outwardly slightly, to permit the bottom tray 14 to be lifted out of position.

As is shown in Fig. 3, the bottom of each of the trays 15 is preferably provided with one or more finger openings 28 to be utilized for lifting from the trays the pads or other holders upon which the candy, biscuits or other articles are placed for display.

So far as we are aware, we are the first in the art to provide a display case of this type, comprising a plurality of superposed trays removable as a unit from the casing and each tray being removable independently from the unit, whether the trays be arranged in two stacks of small-er trays on a comparatively larger bottom tray or otherwise, and whether encased in the form of bag shown in the drawings or in some other suitable form, and our claims are to be construed accordingly. By the use of our improved construction, comprising the spacing strips between the horizontally disposed bars and ends of the trays, clearance is provided for the inner ends of the securing rivets so as to avoid any tendency to distort the ends of the trays in assembling,

and so as to insure the free and easy working of the pivotal connections without the necessity for special adjustments to a high degree of nicety, as is necessary in prior constructions.

While weprefer to embody our improved device in the form illustrated in the drawings and above described, it will be understood that we do not wish to be restricted to the use of the form shown, eXcept as such form may be claimed in detail in some of the claims, since it is evident that changes may be made in the struct-ure without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In combination, a tray, bars connected across the ends of the tray, spacing strips interposed between the bars and the tray, and links pivotally connected with said bars by means of rivets, the heads on the inner ends of which are provided with clearance by the use of said spacing strips.

2. In combination, a bottom tray made of thin sheet metal, a stack of smaller trays, also made of thin'sheet metal, relatively rigid bars across the ends of each of the trays, spacing strips interposed between the bars and the trays, and parallel links connecting said bars together in series for hold-- ing the trays either in superposed position or in laterally extending position for inspection of the contents of the trays, the connection between the links and the bars being effected by means of rivets, the heads on the inner ends of which are provided clearance by the use of said spacing strips whereby the several connected parts are protected against distortion in assembly and are thus insured an easy working relationship.

3. In combination, a bottom casing part, a bottom tray fitted snugly in said bottom casing part and removable upwardly therefrom, releasable clips for holding said bottom tray in said bottom casing part, a plurality of other trays, a system of links connecting said trays together Vin series for holding them either in superposed position above said bottom tray, or in laterally eX- tending position with respect thereto, and other means adapted by cooperation with said bottom casing part to completely enclose lsaid trays in their superposed position.

4. In combination, a bottom casing part, a bottom tray fitted snugly in said bottom casing part and removable upwardly there from, flexible brackets carried by said bot-- tom casing part and extending over the ends of the tray, loops pivotally mounted on said brackets, latches carried by said tray adapted to have releasable engagement with said loops, a plurality of other trays, a system of links connecting said trays together in series for holding them either in superposed -position above said bottom tray or in laterally extended position with respect thereto, and other means adapted by cooperation withl said bottom casing part to completely enclose said trays in their superposed position.

5. A sample case comprising a lower open topped part, two upper parts hinged to the lateral edges of the lower part and adapted to' open outwardly for exposing the contents of the case, a bottom tray removably secured in said lower part, a plurality of additional trays, and link mechanism carried by said bottom tray and removably connecting said additional trays in series with said bottom tray, whereby any one or more of said additional trays may be removed independently of the remaining trays.

HARRY H. LABADIE.

BURTON B. BEERS.

WILLIAM MACDONALD BRAND. 

